Latin Billboard, Voz Latina conferences draw music industry promoters, marketers to Miami Beach

Posted by Elena del Valle on April 29, 2009

Article and photo by Fredwill Hernandez
President, Spanglish Entertainment LLC

The 20th Annual Billboard Latin Conference and Awards and Voz Latina Conference for song writers, artists, agents, artist managers, promoters, music publishers, marketers, and others targeting Latinos took place April 21-23, 2009 at the Eden Roc Beach Resort and Spa in Miami Beach. Approximately 1,000 people attended the panels, celebrity Q & A (questions and answer sessions), music showcases such as the 7th Annual Billboard Bash, and the 2009 Billboard Latin Music Awards broadcast live from Bank United Center in Miami.

The music industry highpoint of this year’s conference was a full question and answer session with Puerto Rican William Omar Ladron, known to fans as Don Omar, who gave attendees a first look at the video of the first single “Virtual Diva” from his new studio album, Idon. He talked about new ways of reaching his fans, new business models that are being put to the test and content he plans to make available to fans who buy one of his CD’s.

One of the bonuses his fans will receive will be a new song featuring Daddy Yankee, a fellow reggaeton performer he used to have a long standing feud with. Don Omar spoke about his acting debut role in the new Fast & Furious movie and his plans to retire in five years and run his music record label, Orfanato Music Group. During the Billboard Awards, Daddy Yankee received the Spirit Of Hope Award for his Corazon Guerrero Foundation ( Warrior Heart Foundation) whose mission is to help troubled and under served youth.

The three-day event ended with Voz Latina, a day long conference that catered to marketers and companies aiming to reach Hispanic consumers. The highlight of the Voz Latina event was a presentation by Jacqueline Hernandez, chief operating officer of Telemundo Communications Group and the day’s keynote speaker. She spoke on the best way for companies to tap into what she called “crucial Hispanic market” by using integrated advertising solutions, innovative models and success stories to help marketers and advertisers achieve their financial goals. Other panels and topics covered Spanish- Language content online, Interactive strategies to reach your target audience, Who wears the pants: The influential consumer, Tecate Case Study: growing in English by speaking in Spanish, and How to market in a recession.

This year’s sponsors included State Farm, Verizon Wireless, Burger King, Coca-Cola, Georgio Vodka, CMN (Cardenas Marketing Network), Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA), MTVtres, MySpace Latino, American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers(ASCAP), Bustelo Coffee, Gibson guitars, and Locman.

Fredwill Hernandez is a musician and aspiring journalism student who expects to attend California State University Dominguez Hills in Los Angeles, California.